Hearing impaired Australians suffer in silence

More than half of the Australians with impaired hearing have done nothing about their condition, a study finds.

Almost one in five Australians is said to have hearing loss. A survey of more than 1,200 adult Australians showed that 52% of the hard of hearing have not done anything about their impairment. Of those, more than 40% had not even consulted a doctor or health professional about it.

The survey also revealed that 72% of people with hearing problems struggled in noisy environments and that almost 25% reported that their hearing loss had affected their working life.

It is well known, that for the hard of hearing, communication with family, friends and colleagues can be very exhausting and that hearing loss can lead to psychological and social problems.

Professor Graeme Clark, who created the cochlear implant, explains that many people with a hearing loss are often embarrassed by their condition and said: â€œItâ€™s obvious that the stigma of hearing loss still has a major impact on peopleâ€™s quality of life, but it must be remembered that hearing loss affects people of all ages, from newborns to the elderly â€“ there is nothing to be ashamed ofâ€.